T: Is for Thankful

As we join in with family and friends to enjoy the tradition of Thanksgiving, I realize we have a lot to be thankful for. We have a President who promises change. This is a President who with his wife and daughters last night passed out food to the needy at a church in Chicago. He wished those who attended a "happy thanksgiving" and told everyone "you can call me Barack." He told reporters that he wanted the girls "to learn the importance of how fortunate they are, and to make sure they're giving back." Did you know President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving Day a federal holiday in 1863, only months after the bloodshed of Gettysburg claimed 51,000 Union and Confederate casualties. Lincoln found solace in our nation's promise even during our darkest hours, so shouldn't we?

In New York we have reason to be grateful for not being hit by fires like California or floods or hurricanes. We have had it pretty easy.

I am appreciative of things like family and friends, yet I'm also grateful for something less thought about: I am thankful for life. When we hear about the bombings and senseless killings in India and other countries, life is where our concerns lies. This holiday reminds us to count our blessings.

We should begin every morning, by remembering at least five things to be thankful for. Come up with things that are such a parts of your everyday life that you sometimes forget are blessings. I give thanks for clean water to drink, for having all 10 fingers in working condition, for the work of poets who remind me to celebrate life. Life is layers of gifts. Even our hardships, trials, adversity and suffering. We grow the most, and find strength the most, when times are tough.

If we keep this in the forefront of our minds, what lies ahead will not be so tough and that is a F.A.C.T.